Attachment means for carton to convert same to dispenser



my 28 1 964; c". E. BUSSE 3 A'TTAEHMENT MEANS FOR CARTON TO CONVERT SAME TO DISPENSER Filed March 4', 1963 6127 672635 5143519 BY ROBERT L. KAHN United States Patent 3,142,426 ATTAiZl-HMENT MEANS FUR CARTON TO CONVERT SAME T1) DISEENSER Clarence E. Busse, 34 Oxford Drive, Lincolnshire, Deerfield, Ill. Filed Mar. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 262,687 4 Claims. (Cl. 225-43) This invention relates to attachment means for cartons to convert same to dispensers and is particularly concerned with cartons containing aluminum foil used for wrapping. Such aluminum foil usually comes in thicknesses of about one or two mils and comes in various widths ranging from about seven inches to as much as 18 inches for kitchen use and as much as three or four feet for industrial purposes. In addition to aluminum foil, the wrapping material that can be handled by the invention may also be waxed paper and one particular type of plastic wrap sold in the trade under the name Saran. The present invention is particularly concerned with means for converting a simple carton containing a roll of wrapping material to a dispenser permitting the convenient and efi'icient severing of the wrapping material across the width thereof at any desired place. While cartons containing such wrapping material are provided with thin strips of serrated metal for dispensing, this serrated severing means is neither desirable nor satisfactory.

The present invention includes as an important element thereof a severing blade, which is disclosed and claimed in my prior application Serial No. 109,744, filed May 12, 1961. As is more fully disclosed therein, and as is disclosed herein later, this severing blade has a certain shape and size and consists of molded plastic material.

The present invention provides an improvement whereby simple attaching means are provided for cooperating with the carton in which a roll of aluminum foil Wrapping material is sold, so that a complete dispenser having substantial utility and convenient to use is created.

For a more complete disclosure of the invention, reference will now be made to the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the slider part of the attaching means embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view showing a conventional carton containing a roll of wrapping material, with the complete attaching means applied to said carton in accordance with the present invention. 7

FIGURE 3 is a section upon line 3-3 of FIGURE 2, the cover of the carton being shown in dotted lines in a position corresponding to FIGURE 2 and the full line position of the cover showing the attachment means in a sheet severing position.

FIGURE 4 is a view on line 4-4 of FIGURE 3 showing the severing means operating upon the Wrapping material.

FIGURE 5 is a view on line 55 of FIGURE 4.

Roll is a roll of wrapping material of aluminum foil, waxed paper or the plastic wrapping material of the chemical composition embodying the Saran material referred to previously and available in the market. The wrapping material may be in a single thickness or a double thickness and in the case of aluminum foil will be about one mil for each thickness. Insofar as the waxed paper is concerned, this is generallypf about the same order, this material being sold in large quantities for use in kitchens, and the like. Roll 10 usually has the material comprising the wrapping material rolled up on a tube of cardboard, or the like, and this roll may be sold in a paperboard or cardboard carton or, in any event, is stored in carton 12 by the user. Carton 12 is of paperboard or cardboard and usually contains one roll of wrapping material as sold in stores presently. Carton 12 has ends 3,142,426 Patented July 28, 1964 M Ce 13 and cover 14 terminating in flap 15 which ordinarily fits inside of front wall 16 of carton 12.

The attaching means forming the subject matter of the present invention is adapted to cooperate with a carton having a particular length and having fiap 15 of a predetermined width. However, as will be apparent later, a user may fold the cardboard or paperboard along a suitable fold line to create flap 15 of the width required for utilizing the slider part of the attachment. The attachment means forming the subject matter of the present invention consists of two parts, one being a slider adapted to be disposed over and movable along the cover of the carton and the other being guide and support means adapted to be disposed over the top edge of front wall 16 of the carton.

The slider carrying the severing blade is constructed to fit snugly about the doubled thickness of paperboard consisting of cover 14 and flap 15, the latter being folded against the cover. While flap 15 may be folded above cover 14, it is preferred to reverse this and, instead, have flap 15 bent underneath cover 14- to form a two-ply thickness of carton material. As will be apparent from the description of the slider, the slider is adapted to be positioned by moving the same endwise over the doubled thickness of flap and cover and is locked in position against the free edge of the flap as a track.

The slider comprises body portion 20 having front face 21 and rear face 22. Body portion 20 has sides 23 and 24 which are shaped to curve inwardly toward each other and have upstanding ledges extending above the top surface of body 20. The arrangement of sides and ledges is for convenience in using the slider, the curved sides being adapted to be gripped conveniently between two fingers.

The slider as a whole is shaped to provide a pair of jaws, which extend from bight portion carrying front face 21, one of said jaws being portion 20. Disposed below portion 20 and extending rearwardly from front face 21 is lower jaw 27 having lip 28 at rear face 22 and extending toward top jaw 20. The remainder of lower jaw 27 between lip 28 and face 21 is normally spaced from the opposing surface of portion 20 by a distance which is normally something less than the combined thickness of parts 14 and 15 of the carton. The spacing is such that the material of which the slider is made, usually of plastic, will have some elasticity and will be spread apart somewhat by the thickness of carton material. As illustrated in FIGURE 3, when the slider is positioned upon the carton, lip 28 will be at the free edge of flap 15 below cover 14, and portion 20 will rest over cover part 14.

For convenience, lower jaw 27 has its sides shaped to conform to the shape of sides 23 and 24 of top portion 20. This however, is not necessary, since the slider can have the lower jaw shaped to provide any desired outline. However, in order to conserve plastic material, as well as reduce the amount of friction between the slider and the carton material, the shaping of the sides of the lower jaw as illustrated will generally be desirable.

The slider body carries at front face 21 depending severing blade 33. This blade is of moulded plastic capable of taking on a high gloss or polish and the blade itself should have substantially the same properties as the plastics used in connection with conventional envelope openers for individual homes and offices. These openers are in the form of a short blade and can keep a cutting edge without nicking or chipping when used in connection with paper and other sheet materials. The blade tapers in thickness from such edge much faster than in steel knife. Consequently, the blade edge will not cut a users finger. As examples, the plastic may be nylon, polyethylene, acrylic material, polyurethanes, high impact polystyrenes, or any of the other plastics which are non-fibrous and which have the non-chipping and non-nicking properties referred to previously.

It is important that the severing blade be of plastic which is moulded, such plastics having a certain amount of lubricity imparted thereto as the result of the use of moulding compounds, usually stearates. Certain plastics, such as nylon, have a natural tendency for lubrica tion, but even this plastic generally contains stearates as a mould release agent.

Preferably, the entire slider, including the severing blade, is moulded at one time. Severing blade 33 has edges 34 and 35 at right angles to each other. The thickness of severing blade 33 varies from tip 36 which is sharp, up to a maximum at base 37. The thickness also varies from each of cutting edges 34 and 35 toward the center of the blade, this being the line extending from tip 36 perpendicular toward base 37, this line together with cutting edges 34 and 35, all lying in one plane.

As is more fully set forth in the application referred to above, severing edges 34 and 35 have a length be tween about of an inch and about /8 of an inch. The angle between edges 34 and 35 must be 90, while the maximum thickness of the blade at the base can be in the range of from about .020" up to a maximum of about .175. For most purposes, a range of from about .035" to about .080" for thickness is quite satisfactory. In some respects, the desired thickness will be governed by the mechanical strength of the plastic and length of cutting edge. However, the angle and thickness referred to above must be within the limits specified. The taper of blade thickness should be such that the outer surfaces of the blade should be convex.

Tip 36, which is used for piercing, and severing edges 34 and 35, while sharp, are not sharp enough to cut the fingers of any one using the attachment. Nevertheless, together with the guide means to be described, the piercing tip will penetrate the foil when the severing blade is moved in a stabbing motion to push piercing tip 36 and severing blade 33 through the sheet material when supported.

In order for the severing blade to pierce the wrapping material and to sever the same, it is necessary to provide guide and support means below the wrapping material for cooperation with the severing blade so that the wrapping material may be effectively operated upon. The guide and support means may be incorporated into a carton when manufactured. However, this is generally not desirable, since it would interfere with and greatly increase the cost of the manufacture of cartons, the filling of the cartons with the contents, as well as packing of the cartons in large bundles. Instead, it is preferred to have physically separate guide and support means, generally indicated by 40. Guide and support means 40 has the shape of a Z and is sufficiently strong so that together with the cardboard edge of front wall 16, the guide and support means will have substantial rigidity. Thus the guide and support means may consist of extruded plastic, metal, or may be moulded of heavy cardboard. Guide and support means 40 has portions 41 and 42 which function as jaws and are adapted to be slipped over and engage the top boundary edge portion of front wall 16 of carton 12. The guide and support means should extend for substantially the entire length of a carton. Jaws 41 and 42 of the guide and support means should be tight enough to grip the front wall of the carton and may have small barbs which can pierce the front wall material of the carton to extend through the wall for the purpose of locking the guide and support means in position.

Guide and support means 40 has additional jaw 44 which is laterally spaced from jaw 42 to provide guide trough 45, into which severing blade 33 can enter with the closure of the cover. Guide and support means 49 will guide the travel of the severing blade along the length of the carton after the severing blade has pierced the sheet material. Guide and support means 40 may be sturdy enough so that it may be removed from one carton and applied to a new carton in connection with the purchase of a new roll of wrapping material. The slider, together with the severing blade, can also be readily removed and reused. The slider and guide and support strip may be packed within the hollow of roll 10. As a rule, this region is empty. The purchaser can then assemble the slider and strip on the carton.

Jaws 41 and 42 of guide and support means 40 have anvil portion 43 which is disposed above the top edge of front wall 16 of carton 12. Anvil portion 43 provides a support for the bottom face of the wrapping material from roll 10. Cooperating with anvil portion 43, which is below the sheet material to be severed, is slider shoe 46 which is large enough to engage the sheet material lying on anvil portion 43. Shoe 46 extends substantially the full extent of jaw 27 along the carton length. The thickness of this shoe is not important so long as it is thick enough so that the shoe bearing surface raises the rest of the body of the slider clear of the top surface of the material to be severed. The width of shoe 46, that is, the depth from front face 21 toward rear face 22, is not important just so long as this dimension is great enough so that there will always be some bearing surface upon the top surface of the sheet material. It is important that shoe 46 have end portions 47 and 48 curve toward the inside face of portion 20 of the slider so that the sheet material to be worked upon will not be engaged by any sharp edges. The bearing surface provided by shoe 46 must be smooth to permit the slider to move easily.

If desired, auxiliary shoe 46 may be provided on front face 21 of the slider for cooperating with the top surface of the sheet material during severing action. However, this is generally not essential.

To limit the movement of the slider along carton cover 14, it is desirable to provide stop blocks 49 and 50 at the rear part of lower jaw 27 of the slider. Stop blocks 49 and 50 extend away from lip 28 and the adjacent portion of the jaw and the stop blocks should extend low enough below the bottom of jaw 27 so that when cover 14 of a carton is in closed position, as illustrated in full lines in FIGURE 3, there will be cooperation between sides 13 of the carton and the stop blocks tending to limit slider movement to the ends of the cover.

It is possible to provide a different severing blade on the slider so that material other than aluminum foil or waxed paper may be operated upon.

It is desirable to have the trough between jaws 42 and 44 as narrow as possible consistent with having the severing blade enter into the space without danger of jamming or improperly positioning the severing blade. As may be readily appreciated, the movement of cover 14 on its hinge will cause severing blade 33 to travel along the arc of a circle and for that reason, the trough between jaws 42 and 44 of the guide must be wide enough to permit this arcuate travel to occur.

With aluminum foil and waxed paper, the piercing action of blade 33 can be accomplished at almost any position of the slider along the cover. For the one plastic with which this may be used, however, it is ad visable to have the slider well in from both edges of the sheet material so that the piercing tip can engage the plastic well in from each edge with the plastic yielding a minimum amount.

It is evident that the free edge of flap 15 when folded against cover 14 provides a track for locking the slider against any movement perpendicular to the long edge of the cover. The slider itself, however, should be snugly retained so that it can only move along the cover.

It is possible to make a carton or dispenser wherein the cover is provided with one or more grooves to function as guide tracks for the slider. The boundary portion of the cover would now be a free edge portion and no flap would be necessary.

What is claimed is:

1. An attachment for use on an expendable paperboard carton containing a roll of sheet wrapping material as aluminum foil or plastic, said carton having a cover and cover flap extending longitudinally of the carton with the wrapping material normally being fed from the carton over the top edge of the carton front wall, said flap having a width less than that of the cover so that said flap can be folded against the cover to provide a two-ply thickness of paperboard, said attachment having a bight portion from which extend two opposed jaws, said bight portion being shaped and dimensioned to fit against the two-ply edge with the jaws having portions spaced apart the thickness of the two plies of the carton cover, one of said jaws having a free end portion extending toward the other jaw and shaped so that it can engage the free edge of the flap when folded against the cover, said jaws locking said attachment on said two-ply carton cover portion for sliding motion only along the cover length, said attachment including a severing blade extending from the bight portion thereof in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the jaws, said blade having the shape of an arrow head with two severing edges at 90 to each other in a plane and meeting to provide a piercing tip, said edges always lying in such plane as said attachment is moved for severing action longitudinally of the carton when positioned on the twoply cover portion, said blade having the blade severing edges substantially at 45 to the line of severing travel, said blade extending close to the front wall and outside the carton when the cover with attachment is closed and in such position the blade tip is past the free edge of the front wall so that wrapping material extending across the free edge of the front wall from the roll can be pierced by the blade during closing the movement of the cover after which the material can be severed by moving said attachment.

2. The attachment according to claim 1 and a separate channel member for mounting upon the carton front wall near the free edge thereof, said channel member providing a U-shaped channel in which said blade can travel with the sheet material being supported at the free edges of the U, the transverse dimension of the U being enough to accommodate the downward arcuate travel of the blade during piercing.

3. The attachment according to claim 1 wherein the bight portion adjacent the base of the blade has a portion which extends laterally away from the gripping plane of the jaws and is so locatedas to provide a shoe on each side of the blade in line along the path of attachment travel for resting upon the sheet material and pressing the same down, the ends of said shoe along the direction of travel thereof being curved away from the sheet material so that said shoes will have no tendency for any edge to catch the sheet wrap material as the attachment is being moved along for sliding action.

4. The attachment according to claim 3 wherein the attachment has the free end of the jaw which is located below the carton flap provided with end stops which extend laterally away from the jaws toward the inside of the carton so that when the attachment is in position for severing action, the end stops will engage the inside end walls of the carton to limit travel thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 906,387 Cly Dec. 8, 1908 2,235,623 Ross Mar. 18, 1941 2,250,236 Russell July 22, 1941 2,405,459 Smith Aug. 6, 1946 2,823,969 Traver et al Feb. 18, 1958 

1. AN ATTACHMENT FOR USE ON AN EXPENDABLE PAPERBOARD CARTON CONTAINING A ROLL OF SHEET WRAPPING MATERIAL AS ALUMINUM FOIL OR PLASTIC, SAID CARTON HAVING A COVER AND COVER FLAP EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF THE CARTON WITH THE WRAPPING MATERIAL NORMALLY BEING FED FROM THE CARTON OVER THE TOP EDGE OF THE CARTON FRONT WALL, SAID FLAP HAVING A WIDTH LESS THAN THAT OF THE COVER SO THAT SAID FLAP CAN BE FOLDED AGAINST THE COVER TO PROVIDE A TWO-PLY THICKNESS OF PAPERBOARD, SAID ATTACHMENT HAVING A BIGHT PORTION FROM WHICH EXTEND TWO OPPOSED JAWS, SAID BIGHT PORTION BEING SHAPED AND DIMENSIONED TO FIT AGAINST THE TWO-PLY EDGE WITH THE JAWS HAVING PORTIONS SPACED APART THE THICKNESS OF THE TWO PLIES OF THE CARTON COVER, ONE OF SAID JAWS HAVING A FREE END PORTION EXTENDING TOWARD THE OTHER JAW AND SHAPED SO THAT IT CAN ENGAGE THE FREE EDGE OF THE FLAP WHEN FOLDED AGAINST THE COVER, SAID JAWS LOCKING SAID ATTACHMENT ON SAID TWO-PLY CARTON COVER PORTION FOR SLIDING MOTION ONLY ALONG THE COVER LENGTH, SAID ATTACHMENT INCLUDING A SEVERING BLADE EXTENDING FROM THE BIGHT PORTION THEREOF IN A DIRECTION PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF THE JAWS, SAID BLADE HAVING THE SHAPE OF AN ARROW HEAD WITH TWO SEVERING EDGES AT 90* TO EACH OTHER IN A PLANE AND MEETING TO PROVIDE A PIERCING TIP, SAID EDGES ALWAYS LYING IN SUCH PLANE AS SAID ATTACHMENT IS MOVED FOR SEVERING ACTION LONGITUDINALLY OF THE CARTON WHEN POSITIONED ON THE TWOPLY COVER PORTION, SAID BLADE HAVING THE BLADE SEVERING EDGES SUBSTANTIALLY AT 45* TO THE LINE OF SEVERING TRAVEL, SAID BLADE EXTENDING CLOSE TO THE FRONT WALL AND OUTSIDE THE CARTON WHEN THE COVER WITH ATTACHMENT IS CLOSED AND IN SUCH POSITION THE BLADE TIP IS PAST THE FREE EDGE OF THE FRONT WALL SO THAT WRAPPING MATERIAL EXTENDING ACROSS THE FREE EDGE OF THE FRONT WALL FROM THE ROLL CAN BE PIERCED BY THE BLADE DURING CLOSING THE MOVEMENT OF THE COVER AFTER WHICH THE MATERIAL CAN BE SEVERED BY MOVING SAID ATTACHMENT. 